


A Man of Experience and Wisdom

by Basingstoke



Series: The Crack in the Door [2]
Category: Die Hard (Movies), Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995)
Genre: Character of Color, M/M, Safer Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-22
Updated: 2009-12-22
Packaged: 2017-10-05 01:04:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/36056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Basingstoke/pseuds/Basingstoke
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rewinding to the summer of 1995.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Man of Experience and Wisdom

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to zvi for a fierce beta.

He, Zeus Carver, kicked Nazi ass, both personally and inasmuch as he helped out one bugfuck crazy white man named John McClane. This is important; this is what he holds onto when he looks at the smashed remnants of his store (even the chairs gone, even the massive keycutter, even the framed first dollar bill), when he hugs his freaked-out nephews, when he grits his teeth through physical therapy. Simon so-called Krieg née Gruber and his Teutonic army got an African foot up their behinds.

He holds onto this again when he sees John McClane, standing there on his front doorstep on a steaming August day, looking like an abandoned Christmas puppy. "Well, you look like shit, McClane," Zeus says.

"Holly said I can have shared custody of the kids, but she's done."

Zeus sighs. "You'd better come in, then."

He pours the miserable motherfucker a beer. His store is smashed but his apartment is fine, thank God for small mercies. "Thanks," John says.

"So that's it? You're not even going to try?"

John drinks, looking at him. "You ever been married?"

"No."

"I know her and I know when she's done with something. She's done with me."

Zeus shakes his head and opens the upper cupboard, where he keeps the Scotch. John holds up his hand, though. "I gotta cut back on that shit," John says. "That whole day," no need to explain what day he's talking about, they both have healing scars, "I had a hangover from out of Satan's ball sack. Kind of a wake up call, you know? I'm sticking to beer."

Well, that's smart enough. Zeus moves to the record player instead, for the heartbroken man's other bosom companion, Billie Holiday.

"Oh, you are a wise man," John says. They sit in silence, listening to the music of pain, drinking beer. Zeus thinks about his last breakup. I can't stand the closet any more, Martin said. I love the closet, Zeus said. That was that. John's right; sometimes a thing is just over. He has to take care of his nephews and his mama. He doesn't have time to be an open gay.

John finishes his beer. Zeus starts to get him another, but John shakes his head. "No, thanks. I just... want to hang out, I guess."

"Don't tell me you want to talk about your _feelings_."

"I feel shitty. Case closed."

Zeus barks out a short laugh. "Yeah."

"How about you? You said you got nephews?"

"Yeah." Zeus hands him a picture. "It's a full time job keeping them on the right path."

"Their parents out of the picture?"

"Mm-hm." He leaves it there. He doesn't need to explain his family. It is what it is.

"Any kids of your own?"

"No."

"Girlfriend?"

"No."

John shuts up, because Lady Day is singing "What is This Thing Called Love?" Zeus never met a man he couldn't live without, but that yearning still speaks to him. Everyone has something they want.

And then the fucking record skips. "Oh hell no," Zeus says, jumping to his feet. "If Raymond was doing that DJ scratching shit with _my_ records, I'm going to nail his ears to my god damn bathroom wall!" He flips the needle up and examines his vinyl, carrying it over to the window for a better look.

"Lucy found my baseball cards a couple years ago. She was making a movie, and she had a screen made out of a cardboard box, and she drew the backgrounds, but she needed actors. She cut out the pictures and glued them to popsicle sticks. My little girl," John sighs. "I didn't hit her. I wanted to, but I didn't."

The record doesn't seem that badly damaged. Just a scratch, and he can fix that. Zeus slips it back in the sleeve, then sits down and finishes his beer in one long swallow.

When he looks up, John is giving him a little half-smile. "What?" Zeus asks.

"What's a handsome and eligible man like you doing without a lady friend?"

Zeus slams down the beer bottle. "Just because we kicked some Nazi ass together does not make us friends, McClane! That is none of your god damn business!"

"You're protesting too fucking much, Zeus."

"Are you implying something?"

"Yeah," John says, and he slides to his knees and rests his hands on Zeus's calves.

Zeus stares at him. "Are you out of your damn mind?"

"I don't think so. I ain't even drunk, and that's a first."

"You've done this before?"

"Before Holly. The seventies."

Zeus snorts and leans back in his chair. "Well, if you really want to suck my dick, do you think I'm going to say no?" He shifts his hips forward to put his dick in mouth range. "Wait. Condom, dammit. You got one?"

"No. Why, you got something nasty?"

"Come on, fool," Zeus says. He stands, taking John by the collar and hauling him into the bedroom. "Thanks to all the fucking we did in the seventies, we now have to wear rubbers every time we get down. Get used to it." He opens his drawer and takes out a condom and hands it to John.

"Shit. Yeah, okay."

"Yes okay, bitch! You want to explain to your wife how you got AIDS?"

"You have AIDS?"

"No! Shut up and suck my dick!" Zeus sits on the bed and points between his knees. John kneels. He opens Zeus's pants and Zeus's dick springs right out. He turned right on, handing that rubber to McClane.

John's only a little clumsy when he puts the condom on. He's not so clumsy when he leans forward and kisses the tip. "Ah, it's not the same without the taste," John says.

Zeus grabs the back of his head. "Well, you're not stopping." John laughs and leans in, fisting his hand in Zeus's open pants and running his tongue down Zeus's shaft.

Yeah. The fool knows what he's doing. Zeus kicks back and enjoys. John's all over him, up in his balls, rubbing his nose through his hair, slurping and grunting like he can't get enough. Damn he should have left the music on. He's sure he has some Barry White.

"Hey," John pants, wiping his mouth. "Can you feel that through the rubber?"

"Yeah, I can feel that. Don't stop."

John isn't stopping. He dives in and sucks hard, cheeks hollow, bobbing his head against his hand. He's stroking the crease of Zeus's thigh under his pants. He's committed, all in.

Zeus tugs on his ear. "Coming," he says, and a deep breath later, he does.

John straightens up slowly, stretching out his knees with audible pops, "So now what?" Zeus asks, taking care of the condom.

"Well I was _hoping_ we could keep fucking, but I guess you could leave me hanging," John says. "Kind of a dick move though."

Zeus sighs, stands, and throws John on the bed by his shirt. John laughs and pulls his shirt over his head. So does Zeus; his open pants are already falling down. He yanks John's pants off and tosses them by the bed.

"Fine," Zeus says. "I'll drive. It'll go better anyway. Unlike you, I _have_ done this in the past twenty years." Zeus pulls the special red toolbox from under the bed and retrieves a smallish jelly ass probe. He slips a condom over it as John watches, eyebrows in his hair.

"That for me?" John asks.

"Unless you have any objections?" He's so not in the mood for namby-pamby straight boy qualms. If McClane wants to fuck him, they're going to _fuck_.

"Nah, you seem like you got this handled."

"Turn over and give me your ass, then," Zeus says, slapping his thigh.

"Yes sir." John turns over. The fool still has his socks on. Zeus squeezes his cheeks and spreads his legs apart. "No foolin' around, huh?" John mutters.

"No." He squirts lube on John's ass and rubs it on, opens him up with his thumb.

John says, "Oh, shit," but keeps his legs open. The guy can't shut up, figures he'd be loud in bed.

"What I'm gonna do is use this to fuck you till I'm ready to fuck you myself," Zeus tells him.

"Sounds good."

"Hell yeah it sounds good!" And Zeus does exactly that, fucks John slow then fast then shallow and teasing, hand braced on John's shoulders, until John groans and stretches like a cat from his thighs through his spine to his fingers.

He fucks John hard and then twists, coming at him from a different angle, making John cry out high and loud. He slides his free hand all over John's body, so the man can feel him over his entire skin. Arms, flexed and massive. Scarred back and chest, tender stomach, soft underarm, throat. He pulls John's head around and kisses his mouth.

And when he's ready again, which takes a little while, he's holding onto John's balls to keep him from coming and John is snarling at the sheets, grasping the blankets with both hands, thighs shaking, sweat shining down his back. It's a beautiful sight.

"Ah," John gasps when he slides the dildo out. "This it? You fucking me now?"

"I've been fucking you this entire time, but yeah, McClane, this is my dick," he says. He slides in and John curses again.

Zeus lets go of his balls and John jolts forward, thrusting like crazy, coming. He's like a damn bronco. He's stronger than Zeus and right now that's real clear; it's all Zeus can do to hang onto his hips with both hands. He collapses onto his stomach, shaking, when he's done, and Zeus follows him, buried to the scrotum in his body.

When Zeus thrusts, slowly, John groans a long "ooohaaaaaah," iffy enough that Zeus pauses. "That a no?" Zeus asks.

"Wha?"

"Are you saying no?"

"Do me" is what Zeus thinks he says. It's muffled by the bed. But he didn't hear a "no" so he keeps going, even when John makes that same groan every time he shoves into his body.

Zeus comes more quietly, without the _Sturm und Drang_ of John McClane. Then he cleans up, before the mess passes nasty and goes to unwholesome, and lies down beside John. The man's already asleep and on the way to snoring. "Bitch, don't you snore," he says to John's sleeping ears.

John mutters something.

*

When Zeus wakes up, John is out of bed and he's about sure he smells goddamn breakfast. Zeus shrugs into his bathrobe and goes to see what the man is up to.

Dancing around the kitchen humming "Fly Me To The Moon" and making pancakes is what the man is up to. Zeus crosses his arms, leans in the doorway and watches. "Look at you."

"Feelin' good," John says. He takes Zeus's hand and dances with him, one strong arm around Zeus's waist. Feels good to be this close to a man, just to hold him. Been too long.

"How's your ass?" Zeus asks.

"Sore. You wore me out." He kisses Zeus, sliding his hands up Zeus's back.

Zeus pushes him backwards so he can get the spatula and take the pancakes off the griddle. They smell good. "I could get used to you, McClane."

"I'm sure. I'm a very charming man. So," he says, "how about Saturday night, I take you out for dinner?"

Zeus laughs. "You're kidding, right?"

"I'm not saying at a gay bar or anything, just dinner. Chinese."

"I'll fuck you, McClane, but I'm not gonna _date_ you. Be serious. I have my family and you have yours," Zeus says. He turns away to get the syrup.

John is quiet as Zeus puts some plates down, gets glasses for orange juice. Zeus starts eating, letting him cogitate in peace.

"Lucy and Jack," John says.

"Your kids?"

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right. We'll keep this on the QT. So--takeout?"

"Now you're talking. I like crab rangoons," Zeus says, and they both eat their pancakes.

*

the end.


End file.
